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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26508766">Let Me Fix It</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Runadaemon/pseuds/Runadaemon'>Runadaemon</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>100 ways to say I love you [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, there be madness here</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 02:47:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,394</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26508766</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Runadaemon/pseuds/Runadaemon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A Two Parter:</p><p>In the first chapter, we get a look into Gabriel and Emilie's love and life.</p><p>In the second chapter, we take a look at Adrien and Marinette's love and life.</p><p>The comparison is memorable.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Emilie Agreste/Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>100 ways to say I love you [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1924498</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>68</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. I can fix this.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>100 ways to say I Love You 4<br/>“Come here. Let me fix it.” <br/>This is the first two chapter answer to a prompt, because the juxtaposition possibilities were just too delicious for me to give up on. The first chapter is set in the past, and it’s based on Gabriel and Emilie. The second chapter will be Chat and Ladybug. So hold on and buckle in. I’ll try to keep it short and sweet, but uh, I’m not great at that.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>“Gabe? What’s wrong, sweetie?” Emilie stepped into Gabriel’s workshop carefully after noticing a tense silence settling through the apartment. She gently stepped around the piles of projects scattered around the room until she reached her beloved husband with his face buried in his hands. In front of him lay a mangled fabric, creased and wrinkled as though he’d tried to strangle it before throwing it away in a fit of anger.</p><p>Emilie quietly set a soothing hand on the back of his neck, feeling the heat, and correctly guessing he was close to tears, if not already shedding them. Her sweet, ambitious husband mumbled something into his hands, but the muffled words were unrecognizable. Leaning down to hear him better, Emilie smiled in both amusement and resignation.</p><p>“Once more, my beloved. This time without barriers?” Emilie gently tugged at his wrists and he obligingly wiped his eyes and moved his hands away from his mouth. They had both known his newest creation would be difficult to bring into reality. Surely there was a reason no one had used this type of fabric for a design like this before.</p><p>“It’s all wrong. I can’t figure out how to make this work, Em. I’m going to lose the commission, and we’re going to lose our apartment, and I’ll never make it and you’ll leave me for a successful businessman and,” Gabriel sniffled and covered his face again, shoulders shaking. Emilie sighed and wrapped her arms tightly around the insecure and hurting man.</p><p>“Shhh, now, Gabe. Come here. Let me fix it. Together we can do anything, remember? Let’s reverse engineer it to find where it goes wrong, and then we’ll figure out how to make it right, okay? I’ve got you, sweetie. I’m right here.” Emilie continued murmuring assurances into Gabriel’s ear until he finally stopped shuddering, relaxed into her hold, and finally nodded his assent.</p><p>Emilie smiled triumphantly. Her husband was ambitious because he had talent and perseverance. He wouldn’t give up over of a few setbacks. Gabriel was strong, and he was determined. That was why Emilie had fallen in love with him after all.</p><p>Emilie slowly leaned back and Gabriel straightened up after wiping his eyes and blowing into his handkerchief. Emilie smiled, kissed his cheeks, and then stepped behind Gabriel as he drew the garment towards himself. She then wrapped her palms around his shoulders supportively. Gabriel took a deep breath, nodded, and began to explain the problem to his resourceful wife.</p><p>“So, when I add this stitch here, the whole line of the garment warps for some reason….”</p><p>**20 years later**</p><p>Gabriel laughed wildly, feeling free and uninhibited. He continued to laugh, triumphant in their mission until a dull thumping sound resounded through the room. Gabriel twirled around, alarmed at the quiet before he saw his wife collapsed in the doorway, pale and unmoving.</p><p>“No.” He whispered, full of disbelief. “Em? Em! Emilie!?” The quiet man’s voice slowly rose in alarm until the shrill sound no longer resembled his own. He dropped his cane, ignored Nooroo and Duusu, and pulled Emilie into his arms.</p><p>“Emilie? Please, what’s wrong?” Gabriel whispered brokenly. He’d known she’d been feeling ill on occasion over the last few weeks, and had a vague hope that she was finally carrying another child. Gabriel however, had never seen her collapse like this before. She looked as though she were no longer a part of this world. Shakily, he reached out and cupped her throat feeling carefully for her carotid artery.</p><p>As his desperation grew, he gulped down his tears and fear, slowly pressing harder into her neck, desperate to find a pulse. Almost giving up, clutching her neck so strongly he had the uneasy feeling of strangling his most precious person, he felt a faint pulse. Sobbing with relief, he leaned over her unmoving body, unashamedly releasing heartfelt sobs of relief.</p><p>“Thank god. Oh thank god. Come on, Em. I’ve got you. I’m right here.” Gabriel gathered her more securely into his arms and carried her to the office couch. Gently setting her down, he stroked her face reverently as Duusu quietly admitted she’d been cursed. Gabriel silently cried as Duusu admitted Emilie had known the risks and refused to stop using the miraculous anyway.</p><p>With an angry jerk, Gabriel wordlessly ripped the peacock brooch off of his wife, flinging it into a wall, and forcing Duusu to disappear without warning. Nooroo flinched and flew away from his upset master, bearing silent witness to the torment. Ever so gently, Gabriel stroked Emilie’s face, crooning to her as though consoling a child.</p><p>“Shhh, now. Don’t worry Em. Come here. Let me fix it. I’ve got you. We can do anything, remember? I can fix this. I’ll find where it went wrong, and I’ll make it right. I know I can.” Nooroo shuddered at the mad tone in the grieving man’s voice, feeling a creeping sensation send chills through his body, as Gabriel continued to talk to his comatose wife.</p><p>“Let me fix it….”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Let's fix it together</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Grief-stricken, the heroes must do what they can to fix the mistakes of the past.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>100 ways to say I Love You 4<br/>“Come here. Let me fix it.” -continued<br/>This is the first two chapter answer to a prompt, because the juxtaposition possibilities were just too delicious for me to give up on. The first chapter is set in the past, and it’s based on Gabriel and Emilie. The second chapter is between Chat and Ladybug. So hold on and buckle in. I managed to keep it fairly short all together!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Chat and Ladybug fell into each other’s arms on the roof of the mansion as the police escorted Gabriel Agreste away, his blonde hair limply hanging in front of his face. Even from this distance, they could see how ashen and broken he appeared. Clutching each other for comfort, a quiet strangled whine escaped Chat as the paramedics rolled Nathalie and Emilie into separate vehicles.</p><p>Ladybug clutched her partner close in response, mindlessly shushing him and beginning to rock them as the reality of the situation began to set in. Once the police car containing Mr. Agreste and the ambulances carrying the women had finally disappeared from view, Chat’s legs collapsed under him. Ladybug followed, dropping to her knees and pulling him into her chest when he broke into sobs, holding himself tensely still and separate from his partner.</p><p>“Come here,” Ladybug whispered. “I’ve got you. Let me fix it.” Chat finally broke, reaching for and clutching Ladybug’s back, openly sobbing while Ladybug silently cried with him. She stroked his hair as tears silently dyed her cheeks with pink streaks. They were chapped by the wind and the constant rivulets that followed the same path as the previous tear tracks each time the wind dried them.</p><p>“M-M-Mother!” Chat brokenly sobbed. Ladybug choked a little, gripping his head tighter in response to the grief in his voice. “Na-Na-Na!!” Chat couldn’t complete Nathalie’s name, too shocked by Mayura’s sudden collapse during the battle. Her suit had fallen away before she’d even hit the floor. The scene replayed in both of their minds, hauntingly heartbreaking with the soundtrack of Hawkmoth’s despairing cry ringing in their ears.</p><p>“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m right here.” Ladybug murmured into Chat’s ear. “We can fix it. Together, we can do anything, okay? I’m right here. We’ll fix this.” Chat shook his head, disagreeing even as he wished he could believe his partner’s words. He pulled away to look into Ladybug’s eyes, his green cat eyes swimming in tears, red and swollen, but remaining pure and beautiful.</p><p>“N-N-No! That’s what Hawk-What Father was d-d-doing!” Chat sobbed out, stuttering through his words, but remarkably coherent. Ladybug finally released a sob of her own, sinking into her partner’s arms as they both grieved for the tragic situation behind the terrorist they’d fought for years. Chat clasped her hand with his own, fingers entwining instinctively, desperately.</p><p>“I’ve got you,” Chat quietly reassured Ladybug, repeating the words he’d taken most comfort in earlier. “Come here, I’m got you,” He repeated, over and over until they both were cried out and finished with murmuring senseless reassurance.</p><p>Silently, they rose together and returned to Hawkmoth’s lair, combing through everything the police left behind for anything miraculous-related. Gathering everything a grief-stricken Nooroo pointed at, they left the mausoleum wordlessly, heading to Ladybug’s home by mutual soundless agreement.</p><p>Upon arrival they quietly murmured their transformation sequences, releasing their kwami and speaking for the first time since they’d cried themselves out on the roof of the Agreste mansion. Marinette moved to her desk, setting her bounty down thankfully. Adrien quickly followed, adding his own on top of hers and sighing.</p><p>Marinette turned to Adrien with determination glinting in her eyes. “First, we sleep.” She declared. Adrien nodded, clearly unhappy but recognizing they were both exhausted and in need of some form of down time.</p><p>“Then,” Marinette paused. “Then we research.” Adrien and Marinette both stared down at the combination of Hawkmoth’s journals and Master Fu’s books and notes. Their hands found each other once again. Clasped tightly, they began to prepare for the task ahead of them.</p><p>** An indeterminate time later **</p><p>“So we know using the wish with both of our miraculous will almost definitely result in some sort of calamity,” Adrien quietly reviewed, rereading the current page he was staring at for the nth time. Marinette grunted in agreement, absently chewing on a macaroon her worried parents had set between them during lunch.</p><p>Adrien continued. “So the only solution is to figure out how the peacock was damaged, what Hawkmoth did to ‘fix’ it, and what we actually have to do to fix it. Once it’s fixed, we can see about reversing the curse, if M-Mother and Na… if they survive long enough.”</p><p>Marinette silently leaned her head on Adrien’s shoulder, nodding agreement, but eyes still frantically scanning through the pages of Fu’s last journal. Adrien glanced between his father’s notes and Master Fu’s, not envying Marinette’s self-assigned task at all. Adrien returned his gaze to his father’s journal, carefully rereading it for any notes and trying to comprehend his father’s spidery writing. He settled in to his task wearily, already drained.</p><p>A tearing sound jolted him out of the weary daze he’d fallen into. He jumped and turned to Marinette, staring wide-eyed at the horror on Marinette’s face. Following her gaze, he saw she’d torn half the page out of the journal somehow. With a quiet whimper, Marinette’s trembling hands released the paper, and it fluttered innocently to the desk, unaware of the pain it had caused.</p><p>“Shhh, Shhh. It’s okay, sweetie. Come here. Let me fix it.” Adrien murmured, pulling Marinette into a side hug as Plagg and Tikki worked together to carry Marinette’s office tape within reach, both silent and pale. Adrien carefully lined up the page while Marinette buried her head into his neck. Marinette’s breathing was suspiciously controlled, and Adrien rushed to fix the page before Marinette had a panic attack.</p><p>“There, all better.” Adrien absently kissed the side of Marinette’s forehead as he squeezed her to him and tapped the page. “No harm done. These pages are old and brittle. It was bound to happen. Don’t worry, Marinette. See? I fixed it. We’re okay!” Marinette nodded as she sniffled, harshly wiping her tears and sitting back up.</p><p>Adrien missed the warmth, but relished the adrenaline the scare had provided. He grabbed Marinette’s hand in silent support, and returned to his journal with renewed determination. After a few minutes, Adrien registered Marinette’s quietly murmured “Thank you,” and smiled.</p><p>Turning the page, Adrien found the first entry that mentioned attempting to fix the Peacock Miraculous. With a startled cry, he leaned forward and let go of Marinette’s hand to clutch the book closer. Marinette turned to him, staring at the hope building in his face with her fingers twisting in nervous anticipation.</p><p>“Found it,” Adrien whispered. He turned to Marinette with a joyful smile. “We found it! This lists what he tried! Now we just need to cross reference it with your half and see if he messed up on any of the ingredients!” Adrien lunged forward, wrapping Marinette in a tight hug before impetuously smacking her lips with an exuberant kiss. “This is it!” Adrien turned back to the journal, pulling his own notebook close and taking careful notes.</p><p>Marinette sat in a flustered daze for a moment before leaning in to read over his shoulder. If she knew where he got the recipe, she could read the original and see if there were discrepancies. Noting the first thing Adrien had written in his notebook, Marinette snorted lightly and switched out the book she was reading.</p><p>Trust him to know exactly what she needed and provide it without her saying a word. Things were looking up. Just as always, together they could fix anything.</p><p>*****</p><p>In the end, Gabriel’s inexpert translations had mistaken three ingredients and mangled two very finicky steps. In a later entry, he’d realized one of the mistaken ingredients after a failure, and fixed it. He also found one of the mistaken steps but he hadn’t correctly translated the step the second time either. It was overall miraculous that Duusu had ever recovered with Hawkmoth’s home-brewed fix-it.</p><p>Adrien and Marinette consulted with the available kwamis, and determined that they needed to strip the miraculous down to its essentials, and then build it back up with the cure listed in the Guardian’s recipe book. Working together, trusting in each other’s abilities and admitting when one was too strained to continue, they managed to strip it down within a few days.</p><p>When they began the potion to build it back up, they ran into a material problem. For over a week now, they’d been locked away in Marinette’s room, ignoring Paris’s celebrations over Hawkmoth and the news clamoring for Adrien’s testimony along with Ladybug’s and Chat’s disappearance. They had even ignored their phones, which were at capacity with messages from friends, enemies, and tabloids alike. Now they needed a source of silver and brass melted down, and they weren’t sure they could safely do it on their own.</p><p>Together, they decided to ask Marinette’s parents for help, explaining the situation, their solution, and what they were having trouble with. Marinette’s grandfather had a blacksmith friend from the olden days, and Tom reached out, setting them up with a source for the materials they needed. Eventually, they had everything ready, and it only ever took reaching out to others they could trust.</p><p>With an exhilarated, hopeful grin, Adrien turned to Marinette, basking in the glow of the magic circle as they began the ritual. “Are you ready?” He asked, faux casually indifferent, even glancing at his nails as though bored. Marinette rolled her eyes and beckoned to her partner.</p><p>“Silly. Come here. Let’s fix this together.”</p><p>And they did.</p>
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